his rich bass-baritone voice and down-home humor, he is remembered for his hit recordings of "The Shotgun Boogie" and "Sixteen Tons".
As a child, Ford was musically inclined, singing in school
choirs and playing trombone in the school band. By 1937, working as an
announcer at Bristol’s WOAI, he went on to study at the Cincinnati Conservatory
of Music. Following America's entry into World War II with the attack on Pearl
Harbour, Ford enlisted in the United States Army in early 1942 and was assigned
to the U.S. Army Air Corps, which kept him stateside, serving in Alabama and
later in California, where he was posted to a bombardier school. His talent
wasn't dormant during this period, and he was able to participate in various
special services entertainment programs.
After the war, Ford -- who had married while serving in
the military -- moved his family to San Bernardino, CA, and took a DJ job on a
local radio station. Pasadena’s KXLA. His comical Tennessee Ernie character
(“bless your pea-pickin’ little heart...”) caught the ear of disc jockey-TV
host Cliffie Stone, who made Ford a regular cast member of Los Angeles’s
Hometown Jamboree country music television and radio shows.
Cliffie Stone, Tennessee Ernie, Nudie Cohn, and
Merle Travis
|
Ford had two Top Ten country hits in 1955 with "The
Ballad of Davy Crockett ,” but it was “Sixteen Tons,” with sales topping four
million copies that cemented Ford’s place as one of America’s top
entertainers. Due partly to this hit, Ford Motor Company recruited Ford to host a prime-time NBC variety program, The Ford Show
(1956–1961). He also made numerous guest appearances on I Love Lucy and other TV shows and became a fixture on television for the next decade (moving to daytime television by 1961).
entertainers. Due partly to this hit, Ford Motor Company recruited Ford to host a prime-time NBC variety program, The Ford Show
(1956–1961). He also made numerous guest appearances on I Love Lucy and other TV shows and became a fixture on television for the next decade (moving to daytime television by 1961).
For all of his occasionally risqué lyrics and humor, Ford
also had a seriously religious side to his work and persona, and his voice was
ideally suited to big arrangements of traditional hymns. His first gospel
album, Hymns (1956), became the first religious album to go gold, while his
second gospel album, Great Gospel
Songs, earned him a Grammy. He was immensely popular as the 1960s commenced and remained a popular fixture on television for most of that decade, and his recordings were as ambitious as they were successful.
Songs, earned him a Grammy. He was immensely popular as the 1960s commenced and remained a popular fixture on television for most of that decade, and his recordings were as ambitious as they were successful.
Ford remained active through the 1970s with numerous
television specials and guest appearances. He participated in a 1973 Hometown
Jamboree reunion at Los Angeles’s Palladium and recorded for Capitol until
1977.
While it never affected his professional work, nor was it
ever publicized (for fear of how it would impact his career), Ford battled all
his life with a drinking problem, something which ultimately undermined his
health. In October, 1991, he collapsed after leaving a White House dinner and
died at an area hospital a few days later, exactly one year to the day after
being elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
At the time of his death he remained a much-loved figure
far beyond the boundaries of the country music audience. (Edited from Country Music hall of Fame,
AllMusic, Wikipedia & IMDb)
2 comments:
For “Tennessee Ernie Ford – Sixteen Tons” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/9564738/Tennessee_Ernie_Ford_-_Sixteen_Tons.rar.html
1. Milk 'em In The Morning Blues
2. Country Junction
3. Smoky Mountain Boogie
4. Anticipation Blues
5. Mule Train
6. Cry Of The Wild Goose
7. My Hobby
8. Feed 'em In The Morning Blues
9. Shotgun Boogie
10. Tailor Made Woman
11. You're My Sugar (& Kay Starr)
12. Rock City Boogie (& The Dinning Sisters)
13. Kissin' Bug Boogie
14. Hey Good Lookin' (& Helen O’Connell)
15. Hambone (& Bucky Tibbs)
16. Everybody's Got A Girl But Me
17. Snow Shoe Thompson
18. Blackberry Boogie
19. Hey Mr Cotton Picker
20. Kiss Me Big
21. Catfish Boogie
22. Ballad Of Davy Crockett
23. Sixteen Tons
24. Roving Gambler
25. Black Eyed Susan Brown.
Tennessee Ernie was a fixture of the country music scene in Los Angeles when he recorded these tracks between 1949 and 1959. This is a collector's choice sweep through Ernie's groundbreaking uptempo sides that featured not only his unique window-rattling baritone but instrumental contributions from Merle Travis, Speedy West, Moon Mullican, and Jimmy Bryant.
A big thank you to FredO @ the Rockin’ Bandit for the original post.
Always a fan of Ernie's uptempo stuff, I was listening earlier today to a three-disc retrospective set, and couldn't help noticing how unsuited his voice and style were to ballads and more lyrical material. He'll always be a boogie basso in my mind!
Post a Comment